Container feeding apparatus



June 17, 1941. A. WQLINDHOLM ,2

CONTAINER FEEDING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 13, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1' MN. NMN

I lflVENTg Rj can. I

dam, wflim ATTQRNEY A. W. LINDHQLM CONTAINER FEEDING APPARATUS June 17', 1941.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .File d Jan. 13, 1939 BY 01mm. ATTORNEY Patented June17, 1941 ES '4 I PATENT;'VOFFICE operated belt adapted to'convey the spaced containers to intermittently, operated mechanisms By way of v example, the second belt may form-a part of and with relation'to reciprocatory mechanisms for e -w sin-r CONTAINER aerator v FEEDING APPARATUS Arthur w. mnuhoim, East man,-m, on

to Pneumatic Scale Corporation, Limited,

-Quincy, Mass a corporation of Massachusetts Applicationlahuary 1:. 1939; Serial No. 250311 14 Claims (o This invention relates to container-feeding apparatus.

The invention has for an object to provide anovel and improved container feeding'apparatus wherein provision is made. for simultaneously 'transferring a plurality of containers such-as bottles or cartons, from a supply conveyor upon which the containers are moved in contiguous *relationship to a second conveyor and for separating the containersduring the transferring operation to deposit the latter in definite spaced relatior'rupon the second conveyor whereby the containers may be *-positioned upon the second conveyor in properly spaced relation for. registration with devices adapted for subsequent operation upon the containers.

Y With this general object'in view, and such H others as may hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the container feeding'apparatusyand Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the transferring device-partly in cross-section as viewed from thr 30. line 3-3 of Fig. 1, and Fig; 4 is a'detailview in cross-section taken on the line 44 of Fig. 1.

In general, and in the preferred embodiment thereof, the present inventlomcontemplates the provision of a novel and superior apparatus for transferring a plurality of containers from a supply conveyor to asecond conveyor, -and for positioning the containers in definite spaced relation upon the second" conveyor for registration with devices for performing subsequent operations upon the containers. The second conveyor may and preferably will. be an intermittently I for 'operation upon the containers.

. operate intimed relation to'a labeling machine ofo any usual. form now upon the market "and in which provision is made for-intermittently feeding the articles to be labeled in adeflnite path 50 applying aJabel'and for'wiping the label into intimate contact with the article. Reference: is made to the United States patent m0. 8; Weeks vrm. 1,425,351,'August8,f1922, as disclosingth bd such labeling machines.

- b L slide unit 26 slidingly mounted in a guide bracket of the labeling machine details of construction and mode of operation of x The labeling machine illustrated in the Weeks patentiwas provided with reciprocatory mechanisms for operation upon a single article at a time. and, as shown in such patent, provision was made for feeding successive articles .to be labeled in'timed"relation to the operating devices.- The commercial labeling machines, now being manufactured and sold, are

in some instances, provided with multiple reciprocating .units. for simultaneous operation upon at .least two articles at a time to thereby increase the productive capacity of the machine. In addition, duplicate units are provided upon either side of the conveyor for operating simultane'ously upon both sides of the articles.

Referring now tothe drawings, which illustrate the preferred embodiment of the invention, the illustrated apparatus includes a supply belt to upon whichithe incoming conveyors I! are moved in" contiguous relation and transferring mechanism, indicatedogenerallyat l4, adaptedto trans- J fer the two foremost containers in the line onto the intermittently operated conveyor belt I6 which m'ay and preferably will -form a part of and operate in timed relation to a multiple unit labeling machine of the character abov'ereferred to. bottles in definitespacedrelation up0n' the belt, as will be described. As herein shown, the transferring mechanism ll comprises twopushers l8,

20 mounted for reciprocatory movement to transfer the containers laterally from the supply belt III to the machinebelt IS. A second set-of pusher members 22, 24, .is provided, disposed in opposed relationto the pushersi i8, 20, and which are arranged for cooperation with the latter during the transferring; operation. [The cooperating pusher members 2o, 24 which engagethe foremost containerin theline', are also arranged for longitudinal movement, as will 'bedescribed:

In the illustrated apparatus; the pusher mem- 20 are mounted for reciprocation with E 28 securedto the machine frame 30. As herein shown, the slidimit 26 is arrangedtobe recipro- "cated through connections from-a cam 32, secured to'acam shaft 14. which may .form a towhich reference has been made The connections from them include a'cooperating camroll M 'carried'on'onearm 38 of a bell-crank, provided with the usual spring 40 for holding the. roll I against its cam. The second' arm A! ofthe bell-crank'is connected by a link 44 to an elongated'lever do which is pivotally Provision'is also made for separating the ,part.

- mounted on a shaft 48. Thelever 42 is con- .to the'sides of the bar carriedbylevers 2,120

nected by a link 50 to a depending arm 52 of a bracket 54 secured to the slide member 22.

As herein shown, similar mechanism is employed for lateral reciprocation of the opposite slide unit 58 including the pusher members 22, 24. The-slideis reciprocated in the guide bracket 58 through connections from a cam 20, secured to the cam shaft 34, including the cooperating cam roller 62 and the two-armed lever 64 which is yieldingly connected to the bracket 22 by a link 68. The link 58 is provided-with a slotted in Fig. 1, the transverse bar H2 is moved fortively withdrawn from contact with the con-'.

tainers by engagement of the pin I2 with the end of the slot I0. The two-armed lever 64' is also provided with a spring I8 in order to hold the cam roller 62 against its cam III.

In accordance with the present invention, provision is made for'separating the containers during thetransierring operation to the end that the containers may be deposited upon the machine belt I8 and positioned in definite spaced relation to one another. As herein shown, the pusher members 20, 24 which cooperate to grasp the foremost container and'to move this container laterally are also operatively connected with mechanism for providing longitudinal movement so that, in efiect, the foremost container is moved diagonally fromthe supply belt ID to the machine belt I6.

As illustrated herein the cooperating pushers 20, 24 are secured to slide members ill, 22 provided with anti-friction rollers I I I3 and which are'mounted to be reciprocated longitudinally upon I22, I are ilxed to the lower ends of vertically mounted pins I22, I24 carried by brackets III,

III which are fixed to and movable laterally with the sliding units ".26 respectively. Corresponding'arms I40, I42 fixed to the upper ends of the pins I22, I34 are connected by links I44, I46 to the slide members 22, II respectively. e

In the operation of the apparatus as above described, the longitudinal movement of the slide members 20, I2 is effected through the mechanisms ll, ll during the lateral movement of the slide units 22, NJ It will be observed that when the arms I", IIII are rocked clockwise, as viewed ward or toward the slide units 28, 82 which in turn, operates to rock the arms I28, I" in a direction such as to effect the longitudinal or separating movement of the members Ill, 22 in unison throughthe cooperation of the rollers I24, I26 and the guides II, III. This movement occurs while the slide units are being moved from left to right as viewed in Fig. i so that at the end of the transferring stroke, the containers will be disposed upon the belt Ilin the positionillustrated the relatively stationarybars 84, 22, respectively.

The slide bars 84,16 are secured to and movable with the laterally .operated slide members 22, 52 respectively and, as indicated generally at 22, ll, similar-mechanisms disposed upon either side of the containers, are provided for operating the slide members. The slide members l0, l2 are'arranged to be operated in unison through connections from a ,cam 92, mounted on the. cam shaft 24. The connections from the cam include acooperatingoam roll 94 carried on a lever 20 which is connected by a link to one arm Ill of a twoarmed lever pivotally mounted upon a shaft I22. As herein shown, the lever 96 is provided with a spring I! to hold the cam roll 24 against its cam 22. The arm III is provided with a slotted portion III which permits adjustment of the eifective stroke of the cam 22 as applied to thelongitudinal movement of the containers The second arm I04 of the two-armed lever is connected by a link I to one arm I" of a bell crank which is connectsd to its counterpart III .on the opposite side of the containers by a connecting rod I I2. Con-e sponding' arms I I4, I IQ of the bell-cranks are connected at-theirends to the underside of a trans? verse bar III and cooperate to eilect reciprocation of the bar in a; direction longitudinally of the conveyor; The ends of the transverse bar .I I! are provided upon their upper surface with roller in Figl 2. During the return stroke of the pusher members, the motion of the slide members an, 82

is reversed, to return the latter to the position illustrated in Fig. 1.-

From the description thus' far it will be observed that the containers I2, being continuously supplied in contiguous relationship to the transfer mechanism by the belt II are transferred two at a time to the machine belt I and that during the transferring operation the foremost container is moved away from the second container to 'de-.

posit the containers upon the machine belt in spaced relation as shown in Fig. 2. In the operation of the illustrated appa'ratus, the line of concontour of the particular containers being transthe remaining-containers in check. The forward 'ferred, such as round, oval or irregular shaped containers. During the forward or transferring movement of the device, the remaining containers upon the supply belt II are held in check by a transverse bar I24, yieldinlly mounted upon the 2I,sothatwhen theslideunitisinitsretracted' position, the bar |I4 will be held in the position illustrated in 1. However. when the slide unit 20 moves forward to transfer the containers, thestop member I permits the bar to slide forward to the position illustrated in Big. 2 to hold motion of the bar I isstomd by the ensu ment of the member I62 with the end of the slide formed by the [lbs I, I" on the bracket 2".

guides Ill, II'I formedby [lbs 0,122 attached to cooperate with,

Upon its return motion. the member I" will againengage the stopscrew-Ill toretract the bhr "41nd releasetheline ofcontainersupon the sum belt ll.

Inc container reading apparatus oft'he present invention, when embodies m a labeling machine -vided with pads I10, as

- ister with successive pads II of the machine.

. embodied in other forms claimed is:

' a component of of said slide .member of the; type referred to, to the intermittent movement belt It so as to depoeittwojcontainers' upon the .belt while .the latter is at rest. As'hereinbefore, are provided upon either reciprocatory slide members,

- g a 2,945,604 operates in timed'relation of the machine.

said receiving.

mounted upon each slide member in opposed remaintaining the containers in definite spaced re-' lation upon the belt 46 cannot be used. ,In order to maintain this relationship. the labeling: machine.

upon the belt is is provided withupper reg.

istering means comprising an upper belt "I68 relation to the belt indicated in cross-section in Fig. 3,\ which are adapted to register with" the tops of-the containers. along the belt I68 a distance. equal to the required spacing for registration with the operating devices. In the operation of the present container feeding apparatus with a labeling machine, it will be apparent that the containers may be spaced during the transferring'operation, to regil during the operation moving in timed While the preferred embodiment ortne inven- IB and pro:

" ,said receiving means comprisingtwo opposed- The pads I'll are spaced, a pair of pushers 1 f lation adaptedto cooperate tc-grasp the containers'and to move them laterally, and means for. imparting longitudinal movement to one set of pushers during the transferring operation whereby to impart a diagonal movement to said set of pushers and to effect separation'of said containers.

4. In a container means, container receiving means, and container transfer'ringmeans for transferring two containers simultaneously from said d'elivery' means to members,

reciprocatory slide slidemember in opposedremountedupon each lation adapted to cooperate to grasp the containtion has been herein illustrated and described, it

will be understood that the invention may be 7 within the scope of the following claims. g

Having thus described the invention, what is 1. In a container feeding device. ofthe character described, in combination, container delivery means, container receiving means, and container transferring means fortransferring two containers simultaneously means to said'receiving means comprising a horizontally re'ciprocable slide member, two pushers mounted upon said slidemember and means for effecting a component of movement of one of the pushers in a direction at right angles to the movement of said slide member during the transferring operation whereby to impart a diagonal movement to said pusher and to effect a separation of said containers and means cooperating with said pushers forrsupporting the opposite side of said containers during the transferring operation.

2. Ina container feeding device of the character describedln combination, container .de-

livery means,

container receiving means, and container transferrinr means for-transferring two containers simultaneously from said delivery means to saidreceivin'g means comprising a reciprocatory slide member, two pushers mounted upon said slide member,.and means for effecting movement of angles to the movement during the transferrin operation whereby to impart a" movement to said pusher and to effect a. separation of said containers, said last eluding. a two armed lever upon said slide m mber and operatively connected to said pusher, and a movableguide member adapted to engage said lever to impart movement thereto during the reciprocation of said slide member. and means co p ting with in a direction at right said pushers for upporting the opposite side of ter described, in combination, container delivery means, container receiving means, and container from said delivery I one of the pushers named means 7 inm pivotally mounted smoking ating with said posite side of said containers during the transers, said last named means including a pair of two armed levers pivotally mounted, one-upon each of said slide members, and operatively con-,

nected to said set of pushers, and a movable guide member adapted to engage said two armedlevers to effect a rocking movement thereto during the reciprocation of said slide members.-

' 5. In a container acter described, in combination, a supply conveyor, a second conveyor arranged parallel to said supply conveyor, and container transferring means for transferring two containers simultaneously from said supply conveyor. to said sec-.- ondi conveyor comprising a reciprocatory slide member arranged at right angles to said parallel conveyors, a pairof pushers mounted upon said slide member and means for, imparting movement to'-the foremost pusher in adirection longitudinally of said conveyors during the transferring operation whereby to impart a diagonal movement to said foremost pusher and to effect a separation of said containers and means cooperpushers for supporting the op? ferring operation.

6. In a. container feeding device, in combination, a' ,supply conveyor upon which the containers are moved in a relation, a. second conveyor arranged adjacent said supply .conveyor,-and means for separating the. two foremost containers in' the line and simultaneously transferring them from said supply conveyor to said second conveyor during eachcycle of operation, said transferringmeans comprising a reciprocable slide member movable laterally with respect to said supply conveyor, two

pusher, members carried byand movable with said slide member, one of said pushermembers being inounted for movement longitudinally with respect to said supply conveyor during the transferring operation whereby to deposit the containers upon the second conveyor in spaced relation and means cooperating with said pushers for supporting the opposite side of said con-f tainers during the transferring operation.

.7. In a container feeding device, in combination, a supply conveyor upon which the containers transferring means for transferring .two containseparating the two are moved in a line and in contiguous relation, a second conveyor arranged parallel with and ads jacent to said supply conveyor, and means for foremost containers in the simultaneouslyfrom' said delivery means to means comprising two opposed a pair of pushers feeding device of the character described, in combination, container delivery feeding device of the char- I line and in contiguous line and simultaneously transferring them from said supply conveyor to said second conveyor during each cycle of operation, said transferring means comprising a reciprocabie slide member movable laterally with respect to said conveyors,

,two' pusher members carried by and movable with said slidable .membeg, one of said pusher mem being mounted for movement longitudinally with respect to said conveyorduring the transferring operation whereby to deposit the containers upon the second conveyor in spaced to move them bodily from said supply belt'to said second belt, one set of said-opposed pusherT-memrelation and means cooperating with said pushers for supporting the opposite side of said contain'ers during the transferring operation.

8.'In a container feeding device, in combination, a supply conveyor upon which the con- -tainers,are arranged contiguously and in a line, an intermittently moving second conveyor ar ranged parallel with and adjacent to said supply conveyor, and means for separating thetw'o foremost containers in theline and simultaneously transferring them from said supply conveyor to said intermittently moving conveyor 'during each cycle of operation, said transferring means comprising a. reciprocable slide member movable '25 laterally with respect to said conveyors, two

pusher members carried by and movable with said slide member, one of said pusher members being mounted fOl movement longitudinally with respect to said conveyors, during the transferringv operation whereby to deposit the containers upon the second conveyor in spaced relation and meanscooperating with said pushers for supporting the opposite side of said containers during'the transferring operation.

9. In a container feeding device of the char- 'acter described, in combination a supply conveyor upon which the containers are arranged in a line and in contiguous relation, a second conveyor arranged parallel with and adjacent to.

said supply conveyor, and means for separating the .twoforemost containers intheline and simultaneously ransferring them \from said supply conveyor 0 said second conveyor during each cycle of operation said transferring means comprising a reciprocable slide member movable laterally with respect -to said conveyors, apair of pusher-members carried by and ;movable with said slide member, said pusher members being; r arranged to engage one side of each container,

one of said pusher members being mounted for movement longitudinally with respect to said conveyorslduring the transferring operation, and 'means'for supporting 'the containers in an up-l right position during the transferring operation including a second pair of pusher members arranged to yieldingly engage the opposite side of each container, whereby to deposit the containers upon the second conveyor in predetermined spaced relation. j f 1;

10. In a container feeding device of the charbers being mounted for movement longitudinally with respect to said conveyors during the trans-' ferring operation whereby to effect separation of the containers in deflnitespaced relation upon said second. belt.

member, and means carried by said reciprocable slide member for imparting an oblique movement to the foremost of said pushers in a direction such as to eflect separation of the containers during the transferring operation and means cooperating with said pushers forsupporting -theopposite side of said containers" during the transferring operation. a a

9 12'. In a container feeding device-of the character described, in combination, 'a supply .belt upon which the containers are moved in a contig'uous line, a second belt disposed parallel with and adjacent to said supply belt, and means for separating" the two foremost, containers in the line and simultaneously transferring them'from said supply belt to said second belt during each cycle of operation said transferring means comprising a re'ciprocable slide member movable laterally with respect to said conveyors, two .pusher members carried by and movable with said slide member, and means carried by said.

reciprocable slide member for imparting an oblique movement to'the foremost of said pushers ac'ter described, in combination, a-supply belt upon "which-the containers are moved in a contiguous line, "a, second belt parallel"with and adjacent-said supply belt, and means for-separsting theitwo foremost containers in the line and in a direction. such as to effect separation of the containers during th transferring operation,

said lastnamed means including .a transverse' slide .bar upon which said foremostpusher is' mounted, a two armed lever pivotally mounted upon said reciprocable slide member, one arm being operatively connected to said foremost pusher, and a movable guide member arranged to engage the second arm of said .two armed lever to effect movement of said foremost pusher in a direction at'r'ightangles to said reciprocabler slide member ,duringthe lateral movement thereof. a 13.. In

line'fandsimultaneously transferring them from said supply belt to said second belt during each cycle of operation, said' transfer'ring means confsimultaneously-transferring them from said shp- -ply bjelt toasaid second belt during each cycle of operation, .said transferring means comprising a pair of opposed reciprocab le slide members-mowable laterally with respect to said conveyors, two sets of opposed pusher members carried by and movable with-their respective slide members, said opposed pusher members being adaptedto grasp their respective containers on opposite sides and 75 prisingia reclpFocable slide member movable lat-,

'erally with respect to said conveyors, two pusher members carried by and movable with said slide member, one of said pusher members being mounted for movement at right angles to said reciprocable slide member during the transferring operation, mean's operatively connected to said one pusher for moving it at right angles to said slide member duringfth'e lateral movement thereof whereby-to impart an oblique movement to said one pusher in a direction such as to effect a? container feeding device of the char- I acter described in combination, a supply beltupon which the containers are moved in a con-- tiguous line, a,second belt disposed parallel with v and adjacent to said. supply belt, and meansfor separating the two foremost containers in the separation of the containers during the transferring operation and means cooperating with said pushers for supporting the opposite side of said containers during the transferring operation.

14. In a container feeding device, in combination, container delivery means, container receiving means, and means "for separating two contiguous containers and simultaneously transferring them irom said delivery means to said receiving means during each cycle of operation, said transierrins means comprising a reciprocable slide member movable laterally with respect terring operation.

to said delivery means, two pusher members carried by and movable with said slide member. one

of said pusher members being mounted for move-' ment longitudinally with respect to said delivery means during the lateral movement of said reciprocable slide member whereby to eiiect a diagonal movement to said one pusher in a direction such as to ei'iect separation of the containers. during the transferring operation! and means cooperating with said pushers for supporting the opposite side of said containers during the trans- Aa'ri'nm w. nnmnous. 

